In raising poultry birds, such as chickens chicken it is of utmost importance that the chicken farmer receives constant, up to date information on the state of health--and other factors--of, or connected with the fowl, whether the birds are destined--as broilers--for meat, or--as breeders--for the production of eggs.
Conventionally, the required information can be, and is, obtained by weighing the birds frequently. In the case of broilers the weight of a bird discloses information on the state of its health, its development and as a result of the latter permits to foresee possible future illness. It also indicates information on the quantities of feed required and makes it possible to plan dates of selling the fowl.
In the case of breeders, even greater care has to be exercised in supplying the exact amount of food required by the individual bird; this also can be determined by finding the exact weight of a bird.
Now, weighing birds in a poultry house where hundreds or thousands of chickens are raised is a rather time consuming, hard work. To prevent the introduction of disease into the poultry house the access to the latter is only permissible if an attendant intending to weigh birds dons clean, practically sterile garments and footwear. Once inside the poultry house, the attendant picks at random a number of birds, each of which is weighed, its weight being written down by the worker. At intervals of a few days this operation is attended to, about 2-4% of the total of the birds being weighed and the average weight, of the batch handled being determined. This average permits conclusions as to the condition of the birds, as referred to above.